Baby bibs are widely employed while feeding a baby to protect the baby and/or the baby's cloths from food and drink that is invariably spilled during the feeding process. Larger toddler bibs are also widely used to protect the clothing of older children who may be old enough to feed themselves or require limited help with feeding, but who are likely to spill food and/or drinks on themselves while eating. Adults similarly may use bibs to protect their clothing when eating foods that are particularly prone to dripping or slipping off eating utensils.
Various enhancements have been made to baby and toddler bibs to make them more attractive and/or more functional. For example, adding pockets to the bib for holding food, drinking containers, and/or wiping clothes improves the functionality of the bib. Adding sewn on or embroidered representations of animals, cartoon characters, and the like improve the decorative nature of the bib, provide stimulation or amusement to the baby or child during the feeding process and/or enhance acceptance of the bib by the baby or child during feeding.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,601 to Spanier discloses a bib having decorative attachments. The '601 patent discloses a toddler bib that is configured to resemble a fanciful dog character and includes eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, arms, legs, tail, and floppy ears of the dog character sewn on to the bib main body.
Often times, when a baby is fed or when a toddler is feeding himself or herself, food and/or liquid is inadvertently spilled or smeared near the mouth, on the chin or cheeks of the child. What is needed is a bib having one or more extensions that may be used to quickly wipe and clean spilled food or drink from the face of the child. What would also be desirable is if the extension was an integral part of a decorative character, for example, the arms, legs, ears or tail of the decorative character.
However, a soft, absorbent material that is suitable for wiping a child's face generally does not have sufficient rigidity or stiffness to maintain its shape and position as part of a decorative character after use for wiping. What would also be desirable is an extension that included a soft, absorbent front or wiping surface for wiping the face of the child and a stiffer, cloth backing material for increased rigidity of the extension so that the extension maintains its shape and resumes its position as a portion of the decorative character after use of the extension for wiping. What is also needed is a bib main body including a smooth cloth front piece providing rigidity of the bib and a soft cloth backing piece adjacent the child's body or clothing for comfort and/or holding the bib in place on the child's chest and stomach.